Former journalist Santanu Saikia, one among the arrested in the petroleum ministry document leakage case, says it is a Rs 10,000 crore scam; Rajnath Singh says the guilty will not be spared
Petroleum document leak accused being brought to Patiala House court in New Delhi on Saturday
New Delhi: Five corporate officials, arrested in the sensational petroleum ministry document leakage case, were sent to three days of police custody by a court on Saturday, even as police raided two places in Delhi as part of its investigations and Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that no one guilty will be spared.
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Petroleum document leak accused being brought to Patiala House court in New Delhi on Saturday. Pic/PTI
Those sent to police custody till February 24 are Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) corporate affairs manager Shailesh Saxena, Jubilant Energy senior executive Subash Chandra, Reliance ADAG DGM Rishi Anand, Essar DGM Vinay and Cairns India GM KK Naik.
All were arrested on Friday and booked under sections dealing with criminal conspiracy and use of stolen property. Their arrest took the number of those behind bars in the case to 12. The court had on Friday sent three of the seven other accused to judicial custody for 14 days. The remaining four had been sent to police custody of three days.
The espionage case in the heart of the national capital assumed a wider dimension on Friday after the police complaint said the papers stolen included inputs for the forthcoming union budget and a letter relating to the prime minister’s office. The documents also related to the power and coal ministries, police said.
Former journalist Santanu Saikia, who is among the arrested, said on Saturday it was a Rs 10,000 crore scam. “It’s a Rs 10,000 crore scam and it was a cover up,” Saikia said outside the Crime Branch office, while being taken to court.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lauded the police for cracking the case and advised it to trace those who had benefited from leaked information.
“During interrogations, police should try to reach the top people, who would benefit from this leaked information,” he tweeted on Saturday.
The police also raided the Patel Nagar office of Jain and Chandra’s office in Noida on Saturday. Police officials said that Chandra’s office and some other rooms were searched to recover stolen documents. They also said that Saxena had in his possession some documents relating to “national importance and security” and these had been passed by him to his seniors. All documents seized are “sensitive”, an official said.
Rajnath Singh said that strong action will be taken and no guilty person would be spared. “We should be commended as we found out that this was happening, the culprits will be punished,” he said. “If we would have not been vigilant, this (scandal) would not have been busted.”
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan too said nobody will be allowed to breach the official system. “Nobody is above law. Nobody will be spared. Law will take its own course,” he said.
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